As a small investor in Bear Stearns I read with amazement your approval of the government's orchestration of the takeover of Bear by JPMorgan ("Wall Street's crisis", March 22nd).

I would just as soon see Bear go into liquidation and get the leftovers of an operation that had a value of over $80 per share. With my downside being a loss of the offer of $2-10 per share, why not?

Fasten your seatbelts. Late Sunday Evening, JPMorgan announced it would be buying Bear Stearns for $2 per share, less than 1/10th the traded value on Friday. The move was backed by the Fed, which assumed most of the risk, and simultaneously cut the rate for borrowing by a quarter percent. According to Alan Greenspan, the US now faces the worst financial crisis since WWII. Monday looks like a wild ride.

And who is really going to pay for it all? You and me.